Najat Saliba, an atmospheric chemistry specialist and a top environmentalist, who was chosen by BBC to be in its list of 100 women in 2019, has inspired many Lebanese villages and towns to protect the environment.
In 2021, she launched the Environment Academy and carried out many projects in cooperation with municipal councils to resolve environmental problems.
Saliba said she has worked with the municipalities of Damour, Mazraat Yachouh, Salaata and others to resolve water related issues and garbage problems.
She has earned a Ph.D. (1999) from the University of Southern California and before that a M.Sc. (1994) from California State University, Long Beach.
“When I moved along with my parents from Damour to Beirut, I realized how nature interacts with people. So I started studying atmospheric chemistry,” she tells Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Studying chemical reactions in the atmosphere is very difficult … There are a lot of challenges,” she says.
When she returned from her studies in the United States, she realized how people were unaware of the pollution surrounding them. She also faced the challenge of convincing people to carry out her research and raise awareness on the problem.
Asked what it feels like to be on BBC’s list of 100 women in 2019, she told Asharq Al-Awsat: “It’s a confirmation of the responsibility I am assuming and shows that what I am doing is being followed up internationally.”
She called for putting women in the right jobs and giving them opportunities to have leadership positions.
